Fire Emblem: Altar of Eternity
by Battle Maniac
Summary: War is afoot. Can Prince Loren and newly appointed tactician Amy lead the Paroltean army to victory over the powerful Reonian Empire? An original universe Fire Emblem story.
1. Prologue: The Strategist

_Hello, everyone, and welcome to my first foray into the world of fanfiction. Before we get underway I'm fairly sure I'm legally obliged to say I do not own Fire Emblem as a franchise. That honour goes to Nintendo. And it's probably for the best. And while this fic will not use any characters or places from the Fire Emblem games, the concept of a trinket known as the 'Fire Emblem' is also the property of Nintendo, so I have to give them credit for that._

_Now that's out of the way, I just want to say a few words before we get started. This fic does not take place in any established Fire Emblem universe. For all intents and purposes, it is unconnected to any entry in the series (much like how all of the games were considered separate universes before Awakening showed that they aren't). As such, I will make no references to the games (with the exception being the existence of a medallion known as the Fire Emblem). We're in my territory here._

_Don't expect updates to this fic to be regular, or even good. I'll write whenever I have both time and inspiration, but for now, just sit back and enjoy (hopefully) the prologue._

* * *

**Fire Emblem: Altar of Eternity**

**Prologue: The Strategist**

An empty void. That's what it felt like at first. No light to penetrate the darkness, no sound to cut through the silence. It only lasted a few moments, but it felt like forever.

The silence was the first to break, as a voice rang out, crisp and clear, "She'll be fine, sire. She just needs some rest." The voice was female, with a gentle yet confident tone that implied that whoever it belonged to knew what she was doing.

"Thank goodness." This voice clearly belonged to a young man, and was riddled with a mixture of both anxiety and relief. "Thank you so much for your help, sister."

"Milord," came a third voice, also male, but deeper and far more composed than the second. The owner was clearly older and more experienced at whatever he did than the other man. "Might I suggest we leave her in the care of the clerics? We have been gone for a long time. Everyone will be wondering where you have gotten to."

"No, Xand," replied the second voice. "I will not leave until I see with my own eyes that she is okay."

"As you wish, sire," sighed the third voice.

A sudden realisation came to her. She could open her eyes. It took a lot of effort, but she managed to do so. As she did, she allowed whatever sound she could to escape from her lips. Unfortunately, all she could muster was a small groan.

"Welcome back," came the second voice. She could see its owner clearly now, as he was watching over her. He couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty years old, standing about five foot ten. His most prominent feature was his hair. She had never seen someone with blue hair before, but it seemed there was a first time for everything. "Are you okay?"

She tried to answer, but once again, all that came out was a groan.

"Can you understand me?"

"Where am I?" she finally managed. "What happened?"

"You're in a hospital," replied the female voice she'd herd earlier. The woman it belonged to was wearing white robes and holding a staff. Clearly she was a healer. "As for what happened, you'll have to ask the two gentlemen that brought you here."

She turned to the two men, the question so obvious that she felt no need to ask it.

It was the older man who spoke. Looking at him, she could see that his features were rugged, but he kept his appearance tidy, and exuded a calming aura of confidence. Whatever his job was, it was clear he took it seriously. "You were collapsed by the side of the road, my lady. You were very badly injured, bleeding from several different wounds. My lord and I discovered you as we were passing by. He insisted that we take you somewhere you could be treated. I believe that had we not done so, you wouldn't have survived."

"You saved my life?" she replied, her voice still weak, although she could feel her strength gradually returning. "Then you have my gratitude. But if I might ask, where are we exactly? I don't even know which country I'm in."

"Really? You don't?" replied the younger man. "You're in Idon, the capital city of Parolt."

That came as a surprise. She didn't realise she'd gone that far. She thought she'd have reached western Natar at best. She couldn't believe she'd had the stamina to go any further.

It seemed that her thoughts made themselves obvious in her facial expression, because the older man picked up on them immediately. "Are you surprised to be here, my lady?"

"I guess so."

"Do you know much about Parolt?"

"Only what I've read and heard. I've never actually been here myself. Until now, I suppose."

"In that case," started the younger man, "allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Loren, and this is Xand."

"My lord is the son to our ruler, King Blake," explained Xand.

It took a second for that to register. "Wait… then that means…"

"Correct, my lady. You are in the presence of the prince of Parolt."

She looked the two men up and down. Indeed, they did exude an air of authority, the kind one would expect from nobility. She noticed Xand was wearing some sort of armour, as would be expected of a royal guard. It was blue in colour, matching the prince's hair.

That's when it clicked. She remembered a book she had read when she had been researching the country. It had said that in Parolt, blue hair was the mark of a royal, passed down through the generations. Since no-one else on the entire continent had this unique feature, it made members of the Paroltean royal family very easy to identify.

"Wow," she said. "If I had known I was in the presence of royalty, I'd have… actually, I'm not sure what I'd have done. I'd curtsy now, but that's rather difficult to do lying down," she joked.

Xand's expression hardened. "In Parolt, the nobility is expected to be treated with respect," he said harshly. "Not with silly jokes."

"Peace, Xand," said Loren. "I'm sure she meant no disrespect." He turned towards her. "What about you? Might I ask your name?"

"Amy, sir." She paused, seeing a hint of confusion cross his face. "Uh… sire? Is that better? I must apologise. I'm afraid I lack experience in addressing members of the nobility."

"Don't worry about it. Now please, tell me. Was anyone else with you? Might they still be in danger?"

"No. I was alone."

"Alone?" inquired Xand. "Is it not dangerous for a young lady such as yourself to travel on her own?"

"If you mean to say that you're surprised a woman can take care of herself," started Amy, anger building up in her voice, "then we're done here. That's something I've heard too many times before in this line of work, and I have yet to hear a single justification that holds water."

"My apologies. I did not intend to offend you." He paused. "You mentioned your 'line of work'. Might I ask what that is?"

"I'm a mercenary… of sorts," came the reply.

Now it was everyone else's turn to be surprised. "A female mercenary?" exclaimed both Loren and the cleric, the disbelief in their voices in no way hidden. "I didn't realise such a thing existed," continued Loren.

"Then you have a lot to learn about social cultures outside of your own country," replied Amy.

"Where are you from, then?"

"Phenia, sire."

"Xand," said Loren, turning to look at his vassal, "do you know anything about Phenia?"

"Only what I've heard, milord. I've never been there myself, but I have had to deal with envoys once or twice."

"What can you tell me about it?"

"Phenia is a very different country to our own, sire, and indeed to any other on the continent. Rather than being governed by a king, it is instead run by a group of individuals elected into power by the commoners. That would explain why Amy was unfamiliar with the customs surrounding the nobility."

"Actually, to be precise," interrupted Amy, "Not everyone in a position of power in Phenia is elected. Rather, we elect our political leaders, who then appoint others into lesser roles. This ensures we don't end up with people in positions they are not qualified to fulfill." She turned to look at Loren. "I apologise. I did not mean…"

"No, it's alright," he replied. "Just as our country has its own customs, so does yours." He turned back to Xand. "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"Of course, milord," replied the knight. "Perhaps the most important cultural difference between Phenia and the rest of the continent is its lack of a glass ceiling."

"A what?"

"A glass ceiling, sire. It refers to the way in which men and women are treated differently to each other."

"So you're saying that in Phenia, men and women are treated the same?"

"Exactly, sire. As far as I am aware, neither gender has any more power than the other. Women are accepted into jobs you and I would normally think of as being the work of a man. The military, for example." He turned to Amy, hoping to get a look of clarification.

She smiled. "You're smarter than you look," she said. "What you've said is correct. Of course, the lack of different treatment works both ways. In Phenia, no-one will protect you in a fight just for being a woman. We don't lose any opportunities just by being women, but we don't gain anything either. And to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way. No offence to you or your culture."

"If what you've said is true," began Loren, "then Amy being a mercenary suddenly makes sense. And it certainly explains the sword we found on her."

The realisation came to her straight away. She looked down at her belt, but sure enough, neither her sword nor sheath were there.

"I'm afraid I had to confiscate your weapon," said Xand. "I couldn't be sure you weren't going to attempt to harm the prince."

"And now?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot return the blade to you. I still cannot be sure if you can be trusted. We don't know why you're here, after all."

"Would it help if I shared my story with you?"

"Perhaps. We shall see."

"Okay, then." She took a deep breath. Her strength had returned now, and she was feeling far more able to speak than she had been just minutes ago, when she first woke up. "If you want to know why I'm here, it's because I was running and had no idea how far I'd come."

"Running?" asked Loren. "From where? And more importantly, from who?"

"Gryor," she replied. "I had just completed a job there that involved an attack on a group of bandits to recover some stolen goods."

"Wait, someone in Gryor hired you?" asked Xand, disbelief now in his voice. "I thought they treated women as little more than domestic servants."

"That's true," replied Amy. "However, my employer was not from Gryor. I'm afraid I cannot disclose too much information about them, but they live in eastern Natar, close to the Gryoran border. It was easy for the bandits to cross the border back into their own country once they had stolen the goods.

"Anyway, it seemed the bandit leaders noticed us, because we were followed. After the other members of the group I was working for had retired for the night, we were attacked. That's how I got those wounds. I knew I stood no chance in a fight, especially after my comrades were killed, so I just ran. That was a few days ago, but I didn't stop moving, because although it is unlikely I was followed this far, I wanted to put as much distance between them and myself as possible."

"You travelled all this way with those wounds?" asked Xand. "You must have travelled the entire length of Natar. How did you manage?"

"I had a few supplies with me, so I was able to form makeshift bandages to cover the more serious wounds, at least for a while. But I didn't have much food, and eventually I ran out of material for bandages. By that point, I must have been close to where you found me, because without the bandages, I wasn't able to stay conscious for very long. As you said, those wounds would have killed me had you not shown up."

"So you were on the run," said Xand, summarising everything he had heard, "and now you may have brought bandits to our city?"

"No, they won't have followed me this far," replied Amy, her voice sounding more confident than Xand believed was warranted. "As you said, Gryorans don't treat women with any respect. If the bandits' leader found out that a woman escaped from them, or even managed to evade them for this long, they'd be executed on the spot. They'll have gone back to their leader and told him they had taken care of me."

"In that case, why keep running?" asked Loren.

"As I said, I had no idea how far I'd gone. I didn't know whether I was out of trouble or not, so I just kept moving."

"Your story sounds plausible," said Xand. "However, the best cover stories always do. I'm afraid I cannot give back your sword." He turned to Loren. "I believe we have stayed here long enough, milord. We've seen that Amy is alright, so we had best leave. I'm sure everyone at the palace is worried about you."

The prince nodded, then the two men left the room. As soon as they had, Amy slipped out of the bed she was in, and onto the floor. "I should be going too," she said.

"But…" began the cleric, who was still in the room.

"I appreciate the help you've given me," replied Amy, "but I can handle myself from here. I've recovered from injuries before, in some cases without anyone around to heal me."

The cleric realised she wasn't going to win – Amy was too determined. "Very well," she said, not stopping Amy from walking towards the door to leave. "Just be careful".

Amy smiled back, saying, "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. And once again, you have my gratitude for your help."

* * *

The breeze rushing through her long black hair reminded Amy how nice it was to be outside. She wasn't a fan of staying cooped up in a room for long periods of time, nor did she enjoy sitting around doing nothing. She was glad she'd had the energy to get up and leave the hospital, because it meant she could become active again.

_First thing's first_, she thought to herself, _I need a new sword._ Luckily, while her blade had been taken by Xand, her pouch, which contained, among other things, her money, had not. She set out immediately to find an armourer, where she hoped to purchase a new weapon. However, she'd barely taken three steps outside when she heard a scream.

"HELP!" shouted the voice.

Amy instinctively started running toward the source of the scream, which turned out to be coming from one of the clerics from the hospital. In front of her were a group of muscular men, each one carrying an axe. They didn't look like they wanted to harm the cleric, but rather that the weapons were merely to be used were they to be attacked themselves.

_Bandits_, thought Amy. _Nothing but thieves who've come to steal from the hospital_.

Her train of thought was interrupted as she heard the sound of a horse neighing, before seeing it appear before her. Xand and Loren were riding the horse, though as it came to a stop, Loren jumped off it, unsheathing a sword and pointing it towards the bandits.

"I won't say this twice," he said. "Step away from the woman."

One of the bandits (who was clearly their leader), chuckled at this comment. "Who's gonna stop us? You?"

As if to answer, Loren sliced downwards with his sword, cleaving the arm of the bandit nearest to him clean off. The man screamed as blood started pouring from his shoulder, writhing on the ground in pain.

"So, it's a fight you want, is it?" said the bandit leader, his tone mocking and snide. "Then it's a fight you'll get! Men! To arms!"

At his word, not only did the three remaining bandits ready their axes, but two more appeared from the shadows, stepping out of two alleyways behind the group.

Xand turned to Amy. "My lady," he began, "you said you were a mercenary earlier. If I return your blade to you, will you help us fight off these barbarians? As you can see, we're quite outnumbered."

"Looking to hire me, are you?" asked Amy. "Well, if it's martial skills you're looking for, I'm not exactly the best person to help. I can wield a sword, yes, but I'm no expert."

"But I thought you said you were…" began Xand.

"A mercenary? I did say that. But I also qualified it with the words 'of sorts'," replied Amy.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I'm not a fighter. Not really. I sell my skills as a military strategist."

"A mercenary tactician? That's rather… unusual."

"For you, maybe. My profession isn't particularly well known, so finding work can be difficult at times. But I never let an employer down."

"So will you help us, then?"

"Of course. Just hand me my sword and listen to my instructions."

"Very well." Xand reached towards the sword with his left hand, handing it to Amy, who quickly unsheathed it. In his right hand, she noticed, he was holding a lance of some kind – it looked rather well made, but also quite heavy.

"Let's get to work!" shouted Amy.

_Let's see here…_ thought Amy. _There are six enemies, but only three of them are close enough to be a threat. We can't let the others get close enough to join up, so the best plan would be to rush forwards and attack as quickly as we can._

"What's your plan then, Amy?" asked Loren.

"I say we eliminate the three closest to us before the others catch up and we have to deal with all of them at once," she explained. That'll give us the best odds."

"Okay. I'll trust you on that."

As one, the three of them ran forward, charging towards their opponents. Being on a horse, Xand naturally arrived before the other two, and was the first to engage in battle. He swung his lance with impressive physical strength, first knocking the axe out of the bandit's hand, then tearing it through his flesh, opening up a wound in the man's chest that blood poured out of, before the man fell to the ground, dead.

Loren and Amy were close behind, and each engaged one of the other bandits. Loren managed to parry an axe swing with his sword, before thrusting directly towards the man's chest. The bandit crashed down with his axe at the last second, pushing away the sword so that it only managed a glancing blow. Loren quickly recovered, however, following up with a horizontal slice that dropped his opponent to the ground.

Amy, on the other hand, wasn't faring so well. Her sword skills were noticeably worse than Loren's, and it took all her strength to keep parrying her foe's axe blows. She eventually managed to land a cut, but her sword hadn't gone very deep, and her opponent continued to fight. That is, until Xand's lance appeared behind him and impaled him, causing him to send out a scream that could be heard several streets away.

"Are you okay?" asked Xand, noticing a small opening in Amy's shoulder where the man's axe had glanced, blood seeping out of it.

"I'll be fine," replied Amy. "I'll patch this up once the fighting's over."

"Are you sure?"

"Part of being a tactician means knowing everyone's limits, including my own," said Amy. "I'm sure."

"Okay. What do you propose we do next?"

She looked down the street to where the bandit leader and his two remaining underlings were, one on either side of the road. "I think we should split up to take down the two remaining lackeys," she said. "Loren and I will take one while you take the other."

"Wouldn't it be better to go straight for their leader?" asked Loren.

"No," replied Amy. "These aren't military men, they're common thieves. They'll keep fighting even if their leader falls. It'll be easier for us if we can remove any obstacles before we take him on."

"Alright. Let's do it," said Loren.

He and Amy ran towards one of the bandits, swords drawn. While Loren kept the man distracted, parrying his axe swings, Amy circled around him and kicked him hard in the back. Having lost his balance, he fell over, and it was then a simple matter of Loren driving his sword into the man's chest.

The two of them glanced over to Xand, who had already dispatched his adversary. The man was lying on the ground, writhing in the pain caused by the hole in his arm made by Xand's lance.

"Excellent work," said Amy, as the paladin rejoined them. "Now there's just the commander left."

"What do me do now, then?" asked Loren.

Amy smiled. "There are three of us, and only one of him," she replied. "Let's end this together.

The three of them began running towards the bandit leader, their weapons held high. Having seen them dispatch his minions with such ease, the leader was feeling nervous, but he didn't let it show. "Come on, you fools!" he shouted. "You'll soon find out that it was a mistake to challenge me!"

"The only mistake here," shouted Loren, "was when you decided to attack this hospital. Now you will answer for your crime!"

"I won't be answering for anything," shouted the bandit, "because you're far too weak to stop me!" As he said that, he pulled an axe from his belt, then threw it directly at Loren.

The throw was both well-timed and accurate. The axe sliced through the air, hurtling towards Loren with such speed that he wasn't able to raise his sword in time to block it.

"Watch out!" shouted Amy. As she did, she leapt towards Loren, eventually coming close enough that she was able to knock the axe out of the air with a blow from her sword.

"Grr… You'll pay for that, you miserable wench!" shouted the bandit leader. Unfortunately, he had failed to notice how close Xand had gotten to him, and as the lance crashed into his leg, he lost his balance and came crashing to the ground. All three of his foes were upon him now, and he realised the futility of his situation just moments before Loren's sword tore into his body, killing him.

* * *

"Is everyone okay?" asked Amy, more out of instinct that genuine worry. She had been watching her two allies the whole time, but she made if a point to always make sure that everyone was alright at the end of a fight.

"Thanks to you, we're fine," said Loren. "We couldn't have done that without you, at least not without sustaining some injuries."

"How about you, my lady?" asked Xand. "That cut on your shoulder looks painful."

"I'll be fine, as long as I get it bandaged," replied Amy. "Speaking of which, I ran out of medical supplies while I was on the run.. Could I trouble you to lend me a bandage and some salve?"

"Of course, my lady," replied Xand, reaching into the pouch on his belt and handing Amy the items she requested.

By this point, the commotion had been over for long to enough for the clerics inside the hospital to have calmed down, and now their matron had come outside to talk to the three fighters.

"Thank you so much," she said. "I don't know what we'd have done if we had been raided. If we'd lost our supplies, we may even have had to shut down completely." Her words were fast and still slightly panicked, making it obvious that she had only just gotten over what had happened.

"It's not a problem, sister," replied Loren, "Those bandits were going to rob you, so we had to stop them. We need no thanks from you."

"They won't trouble you again, either," added Amy. "The couple who survived ran away to lick their wounds, but not only is their leader gone, but they'll take a long time to get over their injuries."

"I don't know how to repay you," said the matron.

"There's no need to do anything, sister," replied Loren. "Knowing that we did a good deed is reward enough."

"Th-Thank you, sire," she replied.

As she turned and left, Amy turned back to the two men she had just fought with. "And what about me?" she asked. "A mercenary can't work for free, you know."

"Of course," said Loren. "Why don't you come back with us to the castle, and I'll see about paying you for your work."

"An invitation to the royal castle? I would be honoured, sire," responded Amy.

"In that case," began Loren, "we should get going."

* * *

**Next time:**

Amy is taken to the palace in the centre of Idon, the castle in which the royal family lives. There, she meets the nation's princesses, as well as the group of warriors who serve as the prince's own personal army. When Loren and his warriors are called to deal with a disturbance in a nearby village, she goes with them to showcase her true skills as a tactician.

"Chapter 1: The New Recruit" is up next.


	2. The New Recruit

**Chapter 1: The New Recruit**

Thankfully, the journey back to the palace proved to be a peaceful one. Amy took the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Idon, noticing how different they were to anything she was used to. Loren took the time to ask her various questions, ranging from Phenia's social practices to her work as a mercenary, the majority of which she answered, only leaving the more personal questions without a response. Before she knew it, the palace was right in front on them, towering over them. From the outside, she had never seen anything so impressive.

"Well, here we are," said Loren. "Castle Idon. My home."

Amy was struggling to find words that could express her thoughts about the palace, but eventually managed, "This is… incredible. I've never seen anything like it."

The entrance was guarded, but Loren calmly walked up to one of the guards and started speaking. Amy couldn't hear from where she was stood, but it was clear he was explaining to the guard that she had been invited, and as such was not to be stopped by security. The man nodded, and the three of them continued into the castle.

The building was no less impressive on the inside than it was on the outside. Paintings hung from every wall, light poured in from perfectly oriented windows, and everything was spotless. It was clear that the servants didn't want to let the royal family down.

As they progressed through the rooms of the castle, Amy was unable to take her mind off how huge the place was – it had rooms she could see no obvious use for, but she kept quiet so as to remain respectful.

Eventually, they reached what she guessed was the inner sanctum. A set of enormous double doors were in front of them, and the room they were in had two other exits besides the one through which they had entered. Amy guessed that the double doors led to the throne room, and this was confirmed when Loren spoke.

"Could I ask you to wait here a moment?" he said. "I must meet briefly with my father."

"Of course," she replied. With those words, Xand opened one of the doors, and both Loren and the knight walked through.

Alone for the first time since arriving at the palace (with the exception of the guards at each exit), Amy was finally able to appreciate where she was. She'd never had any kind of contact with any royal family before, although she had been employed by some of the ruling governors of her home country. As such, she knew how the ruling class of Phenia lived, and had not expected such a huge difference in Parolt. Clearly she had been mistaken.

The tranquillity of solitude did not last long, and she had been waiting barely five minutes when a young girl entered the chamber. She looked about ten years old, with her blue hair tied back in a ponytail. She gave Amy a strange look.

"And who might you be?" she asked, her speech very eloquent, although Amy could tell there was a hint of a patronising tone to it, as though she were looking down at her.

"My name is Amy," she replied. "I came here with the prince. I'm currently waiting for him while he meets with the king. And who are you?"

"Such ignorance!" snorted the girl. "Is that really how you're going to address a princess?"

It took a moment for the words to register, but Amy quickly realised the mistake she'd made. It seemed this was harder than she had thought. "I-I apologise, milady," she replied. "I'm afraid I lack experience at this sort of thing. I beg your forgiveness." She stepped forward and performed a small curtsy.

"Hmph!" huffed the girl. "Ignorance is no excuse. The next-"

"Honestly, Marne, are you really going to make our guest feel uncomfortable and insecure for the entire duration of her visit here?" interrupted another voice, coming from the direction of the double doors. Amy had not noticed them open, but they clearly had, for now there was someone stood in front of them. She looked slightly older than Loren, maybe twenty-one or so years old, and like her siblings, her hair was also a brilliant blue, though unlike her sister, she kept It short.

"But Lily…" protested the younger girl.

"Would you like it if someone else made you feel that way?" asked the older woman.

"N-No…" The arrogance and patronising tone had now left the girl's voice, which now had the tone of someone who knew she was wrong.

"Why don't you go for a walk or something? It'll be better than just standing there tormenting this woman."

Without another word, the girl turned and left the room. Once she had, the princess turned to Amy. "I apologise for that," she began. "Marne needs to learn that she can't treat everyone as though she's above them – it would be a disaster if she treated the populace of this country like that."

"There's no need to apologise, milady," replied Amy. "She was merely acting the way she has been brought up."

"For a Phenian, you're quite accepting of different cultures," remarked the princess. "I almost expected you to refuse to treat her differently to anyone else on account of your country having no hierarchical system."

"As a mercenary," began Amy, "work would be very hard to come by if I looked down on cultures that were different to my own, milady. One of the most important things I've ever had to learn was how to accept other societies and cultures as they are, and to try and fit in with them."

"I suppose that's true," replied the princess. "Forgive me, I have not yet introduced myself. My name is Lily."

"It's both an honour and a pleasure to make your acquaintance, milady," said Amy, repeating the curtsy she had done for Marne.

"Your name is Amy, correct?"

"That's right."

"My brother has just been talking about you. He seems to think very highly of your skills. For that matter, so does General Xand. The two of them are meeting with my father right now to discuss the possibility of hiring you permanently."

"Permanently?" asked Amy, surprised by the statement.

"Correct."

"Loren didn't even mention to me that was what he was doing. I'm not even sure whether I'd be suited to the job."

"That may be, but he felt it would be better to get approval first before offering you a position, so as not to get your hopes up in case his request was denied."

"Then why are you telling me now?" A look of realisation came across her face. Lily smiled.

"It looks like Father is coming around to Loren's way of thinking."

As she said that, the huge doors opened again, and both Loren and Xand stepped out. Xand walked over to Amy and handed her a small pouch with some coins in it.

"Your payment for the last job, my lady," he explained.

"And I have a proposition for you," said Loren. "I am in charge of a small group of six men known as the Posayan Legion." He paused, noticing Amy's expression, but not realising it was the result of her never having heard the name before.

Luckily, Xand understood where the confusion was. "Posaya was a great hero is our nation's history," he explained. "He was a prince who served to protect the defenceless, fighting injustice wherever it occurred. It is said he died in battle, but he truly did shape this country."

"And so, as defenders of justice and the people, the prince's army has ever since taken his name," continued Loren. "Back to the original point, i was wondering if you would consider taking a job as our strategist."

"Of course, it's not that simple," said Xand. "As neither a noble nor someone of any military rank, our king has requested that you first be tested. He wants to put your skills up against one of our military commanders."

"Wow. That's quite the offer," replied Amy. "I suppose I wouldn't get very far as a mercenary if I turned down every job that presented itself to be. I think I'll take you up on that. So what do I need to do?"

"I will lead you to a meeting room where one of our generals awaits," said Xand. He will test your skill with a game of military strategy. Should he deem you worthy, we will be able to hire you on the spot."

"Alright. That sounds reasonable."

"Then if you'd like to follow me, my lady." He turned as the two of them exited the room, bowing to the prince and princess. Amy followed the gesture with a curtsy before following him.

As the two of them walked down the various corridors and hallways of the castle, it became clear to Amy exactly why the building was so large. Not only did it need room for servants' quarters, but parts of the castle also housed some of the higher-up military generals. She guessed that the barracks for regular soldiers were not to far away, either.

They stopped as they reached the end of a corridor, which culminated in a single door. Xand gave it three knocks before stepping back and waiting for a reply.

"Who's there?" asked a voice from inside the room.

"General Xand. I'm here with a request from His Majesty."

The door opened, and the man stepped out. He was physically imposing, standing well over six foot and with very large muscles. Amy guessed he was one of the instructors for the Paroltean army. Xand handed him a letter bearing the seal of the king, which he proceeded to read.

"Very well," he said. "Consider it done." He nodded to Xand, then turned to Amy. "It seems the king wants me to test your skill as a tactician."

"That's correct, sir."

"Well, step into my office, then. I'll have you know I used to act as a part-time strategist myself."

"I thought the profession didn't exist in this country," remarked Amy as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

"It doesn't," replied the man. "I was a fighter first, of course. But if we ever found ourselves in a tight spot, I was the person in the army whose advice would be sought. Nowadays I'm an instructor. I usually teach swordplay, but, on occasion, some of the recruits ask me to teach them some strategy." He cleared some room on his desk before taking out what was clearly a game board. "This is my main method of doing so," he explained.

"So I'm to play this game with you to test my abilities?" asked Amy.

"Correct."

It didn't take long for the instructor to set up the game board and explain the rules to Amy. Once he had, they were able to start.

* * *

"And that…" said Amy, making the final move of the game, "is game."

The instructor was astounded. Never before had he been beaten at this game. And yet Amy had not only done so, but she had done it with minimal cost to her own side.

"That's… incredible…" he said.

"You didn't expect me to lose, did you?" asked Amy. "This _is_ how I earn my living."

"That may be, but I still did not expect to be so soundly beaten. In case you have not realised…"

"The game's rigged, right?" asked Amy. "I noticed. Not only was I outnumbered, but my pieces were out in the open. Would I be correct is assuming you use a rigged game to give your trainees _some_ chance of beating you?"

"That you would, my lady. But even taking the weaker side, it is rare that I am defeated. But you… You're on a completely different level, my lady. I cannot truthfully say that you are not skilled enough for the position the prince has offered you."

"So… does that mean I passed?"

"Of course, my lady." The instructor searched around his desk until he found some parchment to write on, then pulled a quill out of its bottle and began writing furiously. When he had finished, he folded the parchment and stood up.

"If you don't mind waiting here momentarily, my lady, I must go and give the results of your test. Until then, please remain here." With that, he stepped out of the room.

Alone again, Amy finally had time to contemplate how unusual her situation was. Apart from the fact that she had never had to undergo a test before being able to take a job, it was rare that anybody ever hired a tactician for more than a job or two at once. Add to that the fact that the job involved working for someone with a social status that was completely non-existent in her own country, and the whole thing was really new to her. Still, it was a good idea to take work when and where it came, because she never knew how long it might be before she found someone or somewhere else.

She wasn't kept waiting long, and the instructor returned after at most twenty minutes. "It looks like you passed," he said. "If you'd like to come with me."

The instructor led Amy back down the castle's various corridors, until eventually the two of them reached the central room again. This time, they continued on in the other direction, until the eventually reached their destination. The door to the room was metal rather than wood, and it looked rather heavy.

"Well, my lady, this is where I must leave you," said the instructor. "I wish you the best of luck with your new position."

"Thank you very much," replied Amy, as the instructor turned and left. Amy took a deep breath and pulled the handle of the door in front of her. It was surprisingly easy to open given its size and apparent weight, she noted.

The door led to what appeared to be a barracks of some kind, in which five men were standing. Amy recognised Loren and Xand, but she hadn't seen the others before. One was dressed in red armour that matched the colour of his hair, while the same could be said about one of the others replacing the word 'red' with 'green'. The last man was not quite so heavily armoured, and he had a quiver strapped to his back, signifying that he was an archer.

"Ah, Amy," began Loren. "Looks like you passed the test that was set for you. I apologise for that, it was not my idea. Anyway, welcome."

"That's the new tactician?" remarked the green-haired man. "You said she was a woman, commander, but you never mentioned how pretty she was!"

"Do you honestly think idle flattery is going to get you anywhere, Hammond?" asked the red-haired man. "You should know by now, no woman in their right mind is going to respond to it well." He turned to Amy. "I apologise for my… friend's behaviour, ma'am. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Karr, and I'm a cavalier working for Prince Loren." He extended his hand in greeting, and Amy shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she replied. She looked at the other two men. "And what about you two?" she asked. "What are your names?"

"My name is Hammond," said the green-haired man. "And might I say, my good lady, that it is such a great honour to meet someone as skilled and as beautiful as you are!"

"Uh… and I'm Ronal," said the archer, his voice sounding rather nervous. "I… um… I'm an archer, and… well, it's nice to make your acquaintance."

"The prince has told us great things about you and your skill at strategy, ma'am," said Karr. "I must admit, the idea of having a tactician seems an odd one, but if you're as good as he says, I can't imagine any problems with arise."

Amy blushed a little at that. "Don't you think you've… overstated my abilities a little?" she asked Loren.

"Not at all," replied the prince. "You forget, I've witnessed your strategies first hand. Anyway, we've been called out to deal with a disturbance at a nearby village. We're just waiting for one more member of the army."

As he said this, another man entered the room, though from a door at the opposite side to which Amy had entered, which appeared to lead directly outside. Unlike the others, he was wearing no armour at all, and was instead dressed in a cloak. He was tightly clutching several books.

"Apologies for my lateness, sir," he said. "It took me a while to gather all of my tomes." He looked at Amy. "And you might this be?"

"This is Amy," explained Loren. "She's a tactician. She helped Xand and I earlier, so I've decided to hire her."

"A tactician?" the man repeated, surprised. "Well then, it's nice to meet you, ma'am," he said.

"You're a mage, right?" said Amy.

"That's correct, ma'am. My name is Eld."

"Well then, Eld, let's get one thing clear. You have absolutely no need to address me as though I'm your superior, because I'm not." She looked around the room. "This goes for the rest of you, too. I'm not here to give orders, because I don't have the authority to do that. What I'm here to do is give _advice_. So please, when you address me, just call me Amy, okay."

"As you wish," replied Eld.

"Wonderful," said Amy. She turned to Loren. "Shall we get going, then?"

"I suppose we should," replied the prince. He turned to everyone in the room. "Alright, let's move out," he said. "I'll ride with Xand, Ronal, you go with Karr, and Amy and Eld, you two go with Hammond."

The seven of them left the barracks out of the door Eld had come through. Sure enough, it did lead outside, and the first thing Amy noticed was the stables that were right next to it.

"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" asked Hammond.

"I'm afraid I haven't," she replied.

"Just hold on tight, then," he smiled, as he mounted his horse, and both Amy and Eld got on behind him.

* * *

When they arrived at the village, Loren's army quickly realised something was amiss. Normally, a call to defend a village implied that it was being attacked by bandits or brigands. However, here, it appeared the attackers were military men. They were wearing armour, and the majority of them carried lances. Most surprisingly of all, they were flying a flag, which displayed a crest with several stars on it. Amy recognised it as the national flag of the Reonian Empire.

"What could Reonian soldiers be doing here?" asked Hammond.

"Does it matter?" asked Loren. "We're here to get rid of them, not to find out why they're here."

"Actually…" said Amy. "Knowing what they're here for could allow us to prevent other attacks. That is, if they aren't simply a unit who have disobeyed their commanders."

"We can't just go up to them and ask, can we?" said Karr. "They'd kill us on the spot."

"True," replied Amy. "We'd lose our biggest tactical advantage. But if we can reach whoever's in charge, the task should be much easier."

"Speaking of tactics, Amy," said Loren, "what would you suggest here?"

The tactician gave the surrounding area one last glance, then turned to Ronal. "See that soldier over there?" she said, pointing to the closest foe to them. "What are the odds you can hit him from here?"

"Uh, it's a fairly easy shot," replied the archer, "so whatever the odds are, they'll be very high."

"Great. And what about hitting him, but not killing him?"

"Uh, not killing him?"

"Right. We can't protect the village from them if no one knows we're here. That means we need to confront them head on, so I need someone to make some noise to attract them."

"In that case, I'd say the shot is an almost certain one."

"Excellent. Whenever you're ready, then."

Ronal pulled an arrow out of his quiver, then nocked it onto his bow. Pulling the bowstring back tightly, he held his weapon up and took aim, then fired.

The arrow hit its mark perfectly. Breaching a hole in the man's armour, it struck him in the side, causing blood to come rushing out of the wound it had made. At the same time, the soldier let out a tremendous scream in pain.

Clearly, Amy's plan had worked, because the other soldiers nearby all turned and focused their attention on their comrade. A few moved closer to him, until they could see the cause of the wound. Knowing that an arrow must have come from somewhere, they turned their gazes until they were face-to-face with Loren and his army.

"Alright everyone!" shouted Loren. "Form up!"

It seemed their enemies had been given orders to deal with any interferers with no regard to strategy at all, because rather than regrouping with the rest of their squadron, they simply charged towards Loren's group, five of them in all. Loren and his army were about to move forwards to meet them, but Amy motioned with her hand.

"Wait," she said. "Let them come to us."

It seemed her decision was a smart one, because the soldier closest to them reached them rather quickly, thrusting his lance towards Karr and his horse. Fortunately, the attack had been too clearly telegraphed, and Karr knocked the lance away with his own, before proceeding to impale his foe.

The other three Reonian soldiers were faring equally badly. One was knocked to the ground, having been charged by Hammond's horse, before he was struck dead. Xand had managed to completely disarm his opponent, knocking his lance several metres away, before sweeping his own lance at the soldier's feet, knocking him down and allowing Xand to deal the finishing blow.

The last of their foes had the misfortune of having to deal with both Loren and Amy at once. Despite his weapon giving him far longer reach than either of their swords, his was outnumbered, and the two were able to parry his strikes before responding with their own, slashing huge wounds in his flesh.

With their immediate enemies gone, the group took a moment to assess the situation and decide on their next course of action. As they did, however, an arrow flew through the air directly towards Loren. Eld was the first to notice it, and began chanting. Before the arrow could hit its target, an enormous gust of wind hit, blowing it completely off course.

As the others turned to see where the arrow had come from, Eld cast another spell, this one causing a ball of fire to appear at his fingertips. As he finished the incantation, the ball hurtled in the direction the arrow had come from. A scream confirmed that it had hit its mark.

"You have my thanks," said Loren. "You saved me."

"Anything for you, commander," replied the mage.

"So what's next?" asked Hammond.

"We need to find their general," replied Amy. More than likely, if we get rid of him, the remaining soldiers will withdraw."

"You think so?" asked Loren.

"From the looks of things, this squadron has been tasked with pillaging the village," she replied. "I'm not sure why, but for a mission like that, I doubt the rank-and-file soldiers will know either. If we get rid of their leader, they won't really know what they're doing, and will be forced to retreat. The other possibility is that they've gone rogue, in which case, they'll be following _only_ their commander, in which case ridding them of him should cause them to surrender."

No one was going to argue, so the group began searching the village for any signs of the army's commander. They had to avoid a few soldiers here and there, but Amy reckoned that was a good thing – the commander would want to be somewhere he could oversee the whole mission, so the closer they were to other soldiers, the closer they were likely to be to him.

Her hunch was proven correct when they overheard several soldiers conversing. Hearing terms such as 'sir' and 'commander' was enough for them to realise the enemy general was among them, so all that remained was working out the best way to strike.

"We want to keep the element of surprise as much as possible," started Amy. She turned to Ronal and Eld. "So I'd like the two of you to initiate our assault. Being able to attack from a distance, you'll be able to strike before they've even noticed us.

Once they do notice us," she continued, turning to the three horsemen, "I want the three of you to charge head on and break through their line. You'll have support from Ronal and Eld, so you should be fine."

"What about those archers?" asked Karr, motioning towards the soldiers towards the back of the enemy camp, who were holding bows. "If they see us, they'll shoot us down before we can get anywhere near."

"That's where Loren and I come in. The two of us will head around the back of their camp, and we will engage the archers so that they can't threaten you. We'll also be able to take some of the attention of you, which should give you an easier time."

With the plan worked out, the remaining members of the army waited for Loren and Amy to get into position. Once they had, Ronal let an arrow fly from his bow, and Eld chanted his fireball spell again. Both attacks hit their marks, causing the Reonian soldiers to turn towards them, seeing the three cavaliers charging towards them.

"What are you waiting for?" shouted one of the soldiers to the archers, making it clear he was the commander. "Shoot them!"

Loren and Amy took that moment to strike. As the archers prepared their weapons, the two of them appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, swords drawn. The archers had very little close-quarters fighting experience, and thus provided little resistance.

At the other side of the battle, the soldiers were putting up more of a fight, but they were still no match for Xand, Karr and Hammond, and, combined with a volley of arrows from Ronal and some spells cast by Eld, a path was soon opened up into the camp.

Once they had been spotted Loren and Amy were targeted by some of the melee soldiers as well, and though Loren was able to defeat them with relative ease, Amy's combat inexperience meant the same could not be said for her, and eventually she had three soldiers surrounding her, ready to strike. At that moment, a loud neigh sounded out, and Xand appeared behind them, knocking two of them off their feet with a sweep of his lance. In the confusion, Amy was able to gain the upper hand against the remaining soldier, eventually scoring a direct hit that caused blood to flow in massive quantities as her foe fell to the ground, dead.

"You have my gratitude," she said to Xand, who had just finished off the other two. "Knowing my own inexperience is one skill I have yet to fully develop."

"Don't worry about it," replied the paladin. "Combat skills take time to learn. Your skills will be greatly improved before you know it."

Regrouping with the others, Amy noticed that the only enemies left in the camp were the general and the soldiers close to him. Soon, both armies were facing each other.

"Curs!" shouted the Reonian commander. "Fall before the might of the Reonian Empire!"

"Why are you here?" shouted Loren.

"Why? Is it not obvious? We are here to collect the spoils of war!"

"The spoils? What are you talking about?"

It seemed the Reonian general was done talking, because instead of answering, he simply sent his men after Loren and his army. One of them threw a javelin which struck Hammond firmly in the leg, while another, clearly a mage, cast a spell which caused a bolt of lightning to appear. Amy was barely able to get out of the way before it struck.

The Parolteans knew they had to strike back, and fast. While Hammond withdrew to apply a bandage to his leg, Xand and Karr rushed forwards, taking out the javelin thrower and one of the ground soldiers. Ronal fired an arrow, which hit the mage dead-on, killing him instantly. Amy, meanwhile, was engaged in a fight against a myrmidon. Her confidence was growing as she parried his thrusts, and eventually she spotted a gap in his stance which allowed her to slice, tearing open a wound in the man's flesh, from which blood poured very quickly.

Amidst the commotion, Loren and Eld had been able to close in on the enemy general, and were now confronting him. He was wearing the same basic armour his men, but was clearly far better trained. He blocked a cut from Loren with his lance, then jumped out of the way of another of Eld's fireballs. Creating distance between himself and the mage, he then proceeded to engage Loren in a one-on-one fight, which he appeared to be dominating thanks to his weapon's longer reach and greater power than Loren's.

As his lance clashed against Loren's sword, however, Loren quickly took a step back. Having pushed against the sword with all his might, the commander found himself falling forwards slightly. Slightly was all that was needed, as Eld was then able to hit the ground by his feet with a powerful blast of fire, knocking him to the ground.

As Loren stood over him, the Reonian commander smirked. "You think you've won, don't you?" he said mockingly. "Well, you'll soon see that no one can match the power of the Reonian Empire! I hope those worthless soldiers of yours back at your palace are able to withstand the might of our army!"

The realisation hit Loren like a hammer. The soldiers they were fighting were simply decoys, intended to draw men away from the palace so an invasion could take place. Knowing that he needed to end this quickly so that he could get back and protect the castle, he wasted no time in plunging his sword into his foe, killing him.

"The general is dead!" shouted one of the remaining soldiers. "Retreat!" As he did so, the other soldiers, who were currently engaged with Amy, Xand, Karr and Ronal realised that they really had no choice but to flee, and turned and ran.

"Should we give chase?" asked Xand.

"No," replied Loren. "We have to get back to the palace. It looks like they're planning a major attack. This was a trap to lure us here."

No one else needed to say anything. They all understood the urgency of the situation, and immediately they regrouped, each of them getting onto one of the horses before hurrying back to the castle.

* * *

**Next time:**

Loren and his army arrive back at the castle just in time to help stave off an invasion. But their foes are very strong and they're vastly outnumbered. Can they pull off a miracle to protect their country?

"Defend Your Castle" is coming soon.


End file.
